Transition threshold for the 3D Couette flow in Sobolev space

Abstract

In this paper, we study the transition threshold of the 3D Couette flow in Sobolev space at high Reynolds number $\text{Re}$. It was proved that if the initial velocity $v_0$ satisfies $\Vert v_0-(y,0,0){\Vert }_{H^2}\le c_0{\text{Re}}^{-1}$, then the solution of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations is global in time and does not transition away from the Couette flow. This result confirms the transition threshold conjecture in physical literatures.

49 pages